InsaneJournal

Quinn blinked and idly wondered why it was so dark. Then she remembered her sunglasses, and pushed them up onto her head. It had proven to be rather intelligent to wear them while it was raining out. Had it been raining when she walked in? The dark spots along her cardigan proved that it had. And she had left her umbrella at home. That didn't bode well for a swift recovery. And then she remembered that not only had she bumped into someone, but that she was holding onto him. He called her by name, which immediately led her to looking him up and down, trying to recognize him.

"Mr... Willoughby?" She thought that was his name. It was something that started with a 'W.' It made sense, since it was a rather unusual name and he was the only Australian she had ever met. "I'm fine," The answer was more of an instinct really, but it would be clear to anyone that it was the furthest thing from the truth. "Just a summer cold." That wasn't right. Colds usually didn't lead to fevers, did they? She didn't think it was the flu; there really wasn't much aching going on nor did she feel very nauseous. More than anything her head would not stop pounding and she felt so hot.

"I'm sorry for bumping into you." She finally released his arms, but did not move to back away. One thing could be said for Quinn while she was sick: she was far too distracted to feel awkward when socializing with someone. "I'm having an off day. I hope you're doing well?" Despite how flighty her fever was making her thoughts, she remembered that this was in fact Mr. Willoughby and that he had a serious heart condition. Other details were lost in the haze of her sickness, but she was still glad to see a familiar face.

She nodded when he explained that he was getting a prescription filled. That was good. She liked hearing when patients were following through on their doctor's orders. One thing that she usually did not like, however, was when civilians decided that they knew better than the doctor. This man, who was decently taller than her, was suggesting that she was being dishonest about her health. Which was true, but what did he know? Perhaps if her head had been less of a jumbled up mess, Quinn would have thought to correct him, but she didn't. This fever made her feel generally helpless and she really just wanted it to go away. "No, you're right. An off day was yesterday. Today is just completely miserable." She licked her lips, noticing that they felt dry. She would need to drink some more water when she got home; she couldn't afford to be dehydrated.

When he took a step back, that was when she noticed the lizard. No, she had completely missed it as it had tried to climb up his pants leg, but now she saw it and she had to wonder if her fever was causing her to hallucinate. "You have a lizard on your shoulder." Her eyes didn't leave the lizard and she hoped with all of her being that she really was seeing the reptile. She blinked a couple of times before realizing that she had been asked a question. "No," She shook her head. "No one to come with me." It was a simple enough fact. She lived alone with no pets and wasn't really close enough with anyone so that they could help take care of her. Besides, she was a doctor. She was supposed to be able to take care of people. She couldn't do that if she couldn't even take care of herself. "I drive just fine." She held her head up, as if to prove her point. Although she was dimly aware that the reason it was so hard for her to see on the way out was the heavy rains. Maybe she wasn't in such great shape to drive, but she wouldn't admit it aloud.

Glancing out into the parking lot, she watched as the rain pounded down, causing gutters to fill up and spill over. Now she was starting to notice the chill rising from her soaked shoes. She was never going to get better if she kept making poor decisions like she had been. She looked down into the small paper bag she was carrying just to make sure that she had grabbed the right medicine. She wouldn't be surprised if she had picked up the wrong package. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude." Her brow furrowed, half in apology and half in discomfort.

It was difficult to focus on a single thing at a time and, for the moment, the lizard was occupying her attention. "So you have a disease-free lizard on your shoulder. I like it." Quinn didn't have any pets and seeing the lizard perched almost comically on this man's shoulder, she rather wished that she did. Something small, maybe. She'd had a dog when she was little, but her sister had always gotten along with him better. A cat seemed too needy; her pet was meant to be a pet, not something that ruled her. Maybe something like a bird. Or even a lizard. It would be unusual, but the presence of an animal might help fill the emptiness of her apartment. Funny that the emptiness had never really bothered her until now. She had always been too busy with work to really notice that she didn't have many friends. "It shouldn't be okay." Quinn muttered. "I never get sick. Not this sick." It was a bit of an exaggeration, but the latter half was true.

Following his gaze when he said poncho, Quinn had to stifle a pathetic laugh at the sight of the plastic protector flitting across the parking lot. "I don't think it's going to do a good job of keeping you dry now." The slight smile hurt her head, so it didn't last very long. "Sure, I can give you a lift --" She reached into her pocket to pull out her car keys, only to have them slip out of her fingers and onto the concrete. She stared down at them for a moment before leaning over to retrieve them. Today was not her day. Bending over while dizzy was never a good idea, and Quinn wavered and stumbled, but did not actually fall over. Once her keys were back in her hand, she returned to her upright position, grimacing from the woozy feeling that had taken over.

"Maybe I'm not so fine to drive, after all." She sighed heavily, not really wanting to open her eyes again. She wanted the earth to stop spinning. Seriously, any time now would have been appreciated. "Feel free to judge, if you want, because I know there's nothing I can do to stop you, but how do you fare at driving cars? It's a bit larger than your motorcycle, but dryer." Finally, she opened her eyes again, twisting her mouth. "I don't usually ask for help," She admitted. "But someone is going to get hurt if I try driving back home."

Quinn wasn't an animal specialist, and she was half convinced that she was hallucinating, so she didn't think anything of it when it looked like the lizard had nodded at the introduction. "Virote." She tried the name out, testing how it felt against her tongue and teeth. She couldn't promise that she would remember it later, but for now she had it logged away into her mental filing cabinets. Jokes were never Quinn's forte, but she couldn't stop the tiniest chuckle from escaping through the sickness. "I think the rain is evaporating from around me." Seriously. Jokes were not a strength of hers and she usually did without them, but her fever had her feeling a little less than herself. She was noticing the emptiness in her life and trying jokes -- change was good, right?

"You would really carry me on your shoulder? Like a child or something?" Quinn was more astounded by the visual image that it gave her than the actual audacity of it. She honestly wouldn't even know what to do if he had decided to lift her up off of her feet. Something indiscernible probably would have shrieked out of her mouth in surprise, but fighting him was unlikely. On the one hand, she was far too sick to even muster up the energy to do that. On the other hand, he was a good deal bigger than her and looked like he could easily handle her. "It's a rare lucid moment that I'm having, so take advantage of it," Her smile was starting to falter again as she placed the keys into his open palm. Yes, she was trusting a man who she had met maybe a handful of times in the past to drive her home. Honestly, she felt as though nothing could be worse than her fever. That joke about the rain evaporating around her? She was starting to believe that it was true.

Shoving the paper bag into her back pocket, she accepted the jacket and pulled it around so that she could hold it over her head. It was definitely big enough to help keep her sheltered from the rain. It also smelled nice, but whether it was the scent of detergent or cologne, she couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, she liked it. "So are going to make a mad dash for the car?" It actually sounded kind of fun. Except for the whole part where she was sick. Although, three days ago if you had asked Quinn to run across a parking lot in the pouring rain, she would have only given a blank stare. 'Fun' was a word foreign to her every day vocabulary.

"Wait, you're here for a reason. You should get your prescription filled." She was a doctor, after all. Plus, her sense was having a rare appearance for the day. Odds were, it would disappear soon and she would be left spouting nonsense and seeing lizards nod at her.

"Then you are a real gentleman." There was still a joking lilt to her tone, but she meant her words. The concept of what a gentleman was and was not had changed so much over time that Quinn truly believed that chivalry, for the most part, had died. A few still followed the old traditions, and so it was really refreshing to meet those people. She had never really been a soap box preaching feminist unless it came to someone belittling her talents because she was a woman. If a man wanted to hold a door open for her, then she would graciously accept it. If he wanted to go halfsies in paying for a meal, then she was easily as comfortable. Of course, she had not really ever been in the latter position, but that was the price she paid for being so devoted to her studies and career. In the end, if a man was willing to throw her over his shoulder to be sure that she got home safely, then he was more of a gentleman than a man who held open the door for her on her way out.

She frowned slightly when he said that his prescription could wait until the next day. That was never something that a doctor wanted to hear, and especially not Quinn. She wanted to make sure that people got better, not put off getting their medicine because they were more worried about her. It made her feel even worse. She knew all too well what could happen if someone missed their medicine, but in her current condition, she was in no state to lecture Mr. Willoughby. Who had a first name, she was sure. It started with a 'C,' but she couldn't recall it right away. "Alright, but as your doctor, I expect you to be prompt on getting that prescription tomorrow. I expect a phone call the second you leave the pharmacy saying 'Doctor Wake, prescription filled.'" She was sure that her expression would have been more stern if she had not been quite so sick.

"Ready as I'll ever be," She answered honestly. She really wished this fever would disappear; she was getting ready to sprint across a rainy parking lot with a man she barely knew and she couldn't stop thinking that she wanted to enjoy the moment as much as possible. It was so unlike her. What would one of her coworkers think? There goes Quinn Wake, the most professional surgeon at the University of Michigan hospital, running in the rain with a strange man. It was just too strange, but she was blaming it all on her sickness -- whatever it was. Before she knew it, he had yelled for them to run and she tore off through the rain, clinging desperately to the jacket over her head. Every step she took resulted in a large splash of a puddle, soaking her jeans and through her shoes. And despite the facts that were running in her mind -- how the rain was going to lower her body temperature, which would only make her illness worse -- she actually managed to let loose a laugh. Now that was even more uncharacteristic than the jokes. A genuine, uninhibited laugh. She couldn't help thinking that it needed to happen more often.

It was good that Chase had hit the 'unlock' button; in her haze, Quinn had completely forgotten where she had parked. So, the flashing lights and the beeping helped direct her through the rain. Arriving at the car, she fumbled a little with the passenger door handle before flinging it open and hopping into the seat. Pulling the door closed behind her, she brought the jacket down so that it was draped around her front; she needed to stay covered up. The rain had soaked her pants legs and her shoes, so she needed to return warmth to her body, as much as she didn't want to. Running across the parking lot had only made her hotter. She wished she had a thermometer in her car; she was certain that her fever was rising. Reaching behind her, she pulled out the bag from the clinic so she could take a dose of her medicine. If her fever was over 105, she would be in serious trouble. Something told her the temperature was not far from being too high.

Quinn blinked when he asked where she lived. Of course he would have to ask -- how would he have possibly have known where her apartment was? "Camelot Place. Do you know how to get there?" She asked after a few seconds. It wasn't that she couldn't afford a town house or something larger, it was simply that she was alone and her moderate apartment allotted more than enough space for her. If she had anymore room, then she might be faced with how empty her life really was outside of the hospital. Which didn't stop her from really thinking about that right now. She wanted to scold herself for focusing on such trivial details. She knew that when patients were afraid that they might die, that they would often think of their families or friends and want them close by. Was that why Quinn couldn't shake the idea of being so alone? She was sick, very sick, and there was no one she could have called who would have helped take care of her. Coworkers sure, but did any of them really care about who she was? That was why she would be forever grateful for running into Mr. 'C' Willoughby.

The air was a little cool to begin with, but it gradually began to warm up and the good doctor was suddenly wishing for that cool air again. She couldn't be sure if it was the rain water from earlier or if it was a thin layer of sweat that was beading across her forehead now. "Yes, home." She answered quickly enough. "I have medicine and I just need some more water. I'll get dehydrated if I don't drink enough." Even though she was certain that she had consumed enough to drown a shark. "I'll bear through the night and if I'm no better by tomorrow morning, then I will go to the hospital." She was answering his question, but the statement was also for her own benefit. For all her intelligence, Quinn was incredibly stubborn. She knew when she needed to go the hospital, but she did not want her coworkers to see her in this condition. Was it worse that a patient was seeing her like this? Hopefully he wouldn't decide to take a leaf out of her book and try to stay out of the hospital longer than he should.

The heat began building in the car, and she assumed that it was just the heater and the fact that she was underneath the leather jacket. Now it was clear that it was sweat and not rain that was on her forehead and in her hairline. In the brief time that she had been exposed to the warmth of the car, she felt her pants starting to dry where the water had been its thinnest. If the temperature was maintained, then she was certain that her clothes would be rid of the rain water in no time at all. She glanced over to the new driver of her car and tried to smile in what she thought was a pleasant manner. "Thank you for this. I really appreciate it." She licked her lips, which were already starting to dry again. "You can call me Quinn, by the way."

"That's right." Would keeping her eyes closed help her feel better? She doubted it. What did having her eyes open or shut have anything to do with her temperature? Still, they fluttered closed, enveloping her in darkness. The pharmacy wasn't terribly far away from her apartment, no, but the drive felt as though it would never end. She rested her head against the seat, hoping for a brief moment that she could doze off or something to help relieve her dizziness. She nodded slightly at the 'good girl' comment, but didn't say anything in return. She wasn't really the type to get offended right away, but even if she was, she didn't really have the energy to spin a retort in his direction.

"Chase." She gave herself a mental shake. She should have remembered his name, although she was sure that the name he had given her was a nickname or an abbreviation for his whole name. Much in the way that her first name was Samantha, but she always went by Quinn. Samantha just never felt right to her, especially with a least three others in her classes. "I remembered the 'C' part, but I wasn't sure about the rest." Quinn confessed, opening her eyes so she could glance over at him. "Chase Willoughby. You have a very interesting name. I like it." She felt the car accelerate and she was very glad for it. She wanted to be at home now. Her eyes closed again and she listened to the patter of the rain on the roof of the car. The sound was easily lulling her into a light state of sleep, but the heat just made everything so uncomfortable. She could feel sweat dripping down her back. With the heat and the jacket over her, she was certain that she was going to burst into flame. Fire. It triggered something in her mind. She remembered dreams that she had been having off and on all morning and last night. There wasn't much to them other than the heat and the clear image of bright flames.

Groaning, she leaned forward and flipped the heat off, placing the jacket on the back seat. "It's so hot." Sweat was starting to soak her shirt and hairline. Pressing her head against the glass of the window, she relished in the brief coolness that the contact gave her. Unfortunately, it did not last very long. She reached for the button for the window, pressing it so the glass would disappear, letting in cooler air. Without thinking, Quinn thrust her arm out into the rain, wincing slightly as the drops pelted the exposed flesh. Even the rain wasn't doing much to help cool her down now. She brought her hand back in and patted her face with what little water had collected along her palm. She could have sworn that she heard a slight sizzle when the water came into contact with her skin, but she wasn't about to take anything she thought seriously right now. Her fever was getting worse and she was starting to become delusional. She thought her hands were starting to glow.

"Is it too late to turn around and head to the hospital?" She asked Chase, a pathetic laugh working its way out of her mouth.

Now that just sounded silly. She even giggled, although as weak as she as feeling, it sounded breathy. "Willoughby sounds like Wallaby." She repeated the words, acknowledging the rhythm and flow. It was just one of those phrases that got stuck in your head and her already unreliable thoughts latched onto it. Willoughby-Wallaby. Willoughby-Wallaby. Wallaby-Willoughby. She started wondering if she said it enough if the words would merge into a single term or if she would start doubting if she was saying it correctly. She always thought it was odd how silly she felt when she said a word so often she started believing she was saying it wrong. Like bowl. Saying it over and over made it just sound weird. Was she actually saying it out loud now? She didn't think so. She hoped she wasn't, at least. Then Chase would think she was crazy. Which she wasn't. Right?

It seemed like a valid question, to be quite honest. Quinn was sitting there, ready to shed her cardigan she was sweating so much. The window to the car was still down and every once in a while a droplet would catch the side of the door and splatter onto her arm or her face and each time she could have sworn it sounded like water dripping onto a hot furnace or stove eye. Oddly enough, the sound wasn't concerning her as much as how she was about eighty percent certain that she was starting to emit light from her hands. They were just appearing so much brighter than usual and Quinn was starting to doubt that it was a fever-induced hallucination. Which was even more cemented when she heard Chase ask if she was okay. With her hands held out before her, she turned to look at him, her eyes wide. His expression was one of concern, but also confusion was there. Does he see it, too? The thought was wild and spread like fire in her mind. He must be seeing the same thing she was. Then she wasn't hallucinating. Her hands were glowing.

"I- I don't know what's happening to me." She answered quietly, and for the first time since she first fell ill, Quinn was scared. The heat was consuming her and she couldn't stop thinking about how her brain was starting to hemorrhage and how people died or suffered severe brain damage from fevers so high. She knew the cold and medical details of what was happening inside of her skull and it wasn't pretty; nor did it help her to remain calm. She was terrified and her logic was beyond her reach. What else was there to rely on but her fear? The heat was starting to hurt and she kept thinking of the fire in her dreams. She felt like she was burning. She closed her eyes, brow furrowing in pain, fear, and confusion. "I feel like I'm on fire," She groaned, cradling her head in her hands.

She didn't realize that her hands were on fire.

Quinn was not a religious women, but at that moment she was ready to pray to any god if it meant that her suffering would end. It all hurt and it felt as though it was going deeper than just her skin. The heat wasn't just burning past the layers of skin and muscle, but it felt like it was coming from her very core. Like she had managed to swallow a flame and couldn't find a way to let it out. Her face contorted in the pain, but she couldn't do anything whatsoever to relieve it; at this point it was a pleasant distraction from the heat. Her window was still down and rain still splattered inside, splashing on her hands and face. This time Quinn was certain that she had heard a sizzle. Only she didn't really have time to react to that because Chase was suddenly shouting next to her. Her eyes jerked open so she could look in his direction, but before her gaze could ever roll towards him, it was stuck on her hands. Hands that were on fire. And it was starting to spread up her arms. Quinn was not prone to panicking or screaming, but she had never before found herself aflame.

As a shriek had started to escape her lips, the jacket was suddenly over her head, blanketing her in darkness, which made the light from her flaming arms even brighter. This was no hallucination. She was literally on fire -- never mind the fact that she couldn't actually smell flesh or hair burning. Quinn was fighting against the jacket and the flame in general when she felt the impact from the other car. Tossed unceremoniously around as the car spun, she couldn't quell her screams. She heard metal crunching and glass breaking. She managed to get the jacket thrown off of her as the car came to a harsh stop. Her hands went to jerk the seat belt off of her, but the flames burned straight through the fabric, releasing her faster than if she had found the button to press. Quinn's hands fumbled with the door handle, but she could not get a firm grasp as the fire spread even further. She was going to die, consumed by flames in her own car. Tears were spilling out of her eyes, but evaporated as soon as they hit her cheeks. Her legs and torso were on fire now and the flames kept growing until they had traveled over her head. Quinn's screams would not cease and she clamped her eyes shut, willing the fire to disappear.

The flames were white hot, the kind that should bring blisters to her skin and cause the car to explode. "Please don't let me die here. Not like this." The flames were so hot that she couldn't quite feel them anymore. The nerve endings are irreparably damaged. My brain is flooded with blood. Every inch of skin has burnt and split away from muscle. Odd how it didn't really feel like that. A voice had filled her mind, swearing excitedly, but before she had time to acknowledge it, something extraordinary happened. It felt like a bolt of lightning had ripped through her; there was one shot, hotter than any of the flames that were roaring in her ears that tore through her body, leaving her in the seat with wide eyes. With a sharp inhale, Quinn felt her body buzzing from the jolt. The flames began to die down, as if they were being absorbed into her skin. Her pale flesh was left glowing slightly as she pushed herself forward. Her breathing was heavy and all she could do was stare at her hands.

Her fever, fear, and questions had vanished with the flames. She couldn't really explain how she knew what had happened, but she did. She understood that she was no longer a human being. She was something so much more. A phoenix. And she wasn't alone. A voice was in her head, causing her to look at the lizard that was on Chase's leg. The lizard that had just spoken? So maybe her questions weren't completely gone. "Did you just --" Shit, Chase! Quinn's attention flew up to the man next to her. She knew without touching him that he was dead, but she reached forward, her hand going straight for the carotid artery. "Chase! Chase, please answer me." There was no flicker beneath her fingers. Chase was dead, no two ways about it. There was a solution, she knew there was. Running her lips together, she glanced down at the lizard. "Come here," She reached down, picking him up and placing him on her shoulder. She needed to get Chase out of the car.

Fortunately, he had unbuckled to reach around and snag his jacket, so the only problem with getting him out of the car was the metal that was crushed into his side. Speaking of the jacket... She reached down, pulling it over her shoulders so Virote would be covered once they were out in the rain. Once she was covered, she firmly grasped Chase's arm. She had to heal him, but if she did so in the car, he could still get hurt. Quinn was not extremely strong and it took a great deal of effort to pull the Australian out of the car. She had to stop several times to regain her strength and in the end, stopped the moment that she got Chase into the passenger seat. "God..." Distressed tears started to prick at her eyes as she was able to fully take in Chase's state. Why was there no one driving by? Why couldn't anyone stop to help? But then, how could she explain what had happened? How could she possibly begin to explain why Chase was dead and she was not injured? Reaching to the side of the seat, Quinn adjusted the seat so that it was lying flat, giving her more room. Now what? She hopped carefully over to the driver's seat placing a hand firmly on an edge of jagged metal. There was blood all along the side of the door. Biting down hard onto her lip and closing her eyes, she dragged her hand across the metal, feeling the sharp edge pierce her skin.

"Please work," She pressed her bleeding hand onto the open gash on Chase's forehead. She didn't know how she knew to do this -- she just did. Her blood could help him. It had to. Sitting mostly on the console of the broken car, she stared down at his poor, battered body. "Chase? Chase please wake up. I'm so sorry..." As if she could have known what was happening to her.

There was no denying it the second time: the lizard had definitely spoken. Despite the fact that his mouth had not moved at all, there was no doubt in Quinn's mind that the voice had been the reptile's. Apart from the dead man sitting next to her and the whole bursting into flame thing, this was by far the most unusual thing she had ever experienced. "You talk?" Her brows were arched high, a knot furrowing between them. "How is that even possible?" The second question was directed more to herself than Virote. How was any of this possible? Tonight definitely went into the category of strangest night ever.

Quinn couldn't explain how she knew what had happened or what was going to happen with Chase, but she did. Mentally, she understood everything. Emotionally... well, she was a little more than shaken up. "Chase!" Really, the amount of relief that flooded her was ridiculous. She had known what to do the second she saw him and she had known that her blood could cure him, but that did not stop her from feeling a rush of comfort knowing that he was alive. "Hey, it's alright. You're okay. Don't move, much alright?" She took her hand from his forehead, watching as the open gash closed much faster than was humanly possible. She put her hands on his shoulders, trying to help calm him down and to keep him still. There was no way that he could have felt very good at all. What a switch...

She was about to speak to him again when Virote spoke to her again. Could he understand her thoughts? She thought his request was odd, but then so was the fact that he could even speak. She didn't understand why Chase couldn't know of this hidden talent, but she silently agreed to do as the lizard asked. Alright. Good Lord, I'm talking to a lizard. Again. Just in case he couldn't understand her thoughts, she also gave him the slightest of nods.

"Chase? Are you alright?" Ten points for the worst question ever, Quinn. She licked her lips, squeezing her bottom lip between her teeth. "We should get you inside somewhere," Not the hospital. Definitely not the hospital. "I'm going to call a cab... I want to take you home, but I owe you a huge explanation. Something that's going to sound completely insane..." Goodness this was difficult. "Could we go to my apartment first? Just to make sure you're alright. And to give me a chance to explain?" If he accepted, she would be more than surprised. She just scared him half to death by bursting into flame, caused him to actually die and then brought him back to life. But she had to explain what had happened, and in the middle of a wrecked car in the pouring rain was not the place.